Political Databases: where privacy goes to die

Party time for unsupervised, unaudited records.

4 July, 2016

Forced council mergers: the genesis of the full-time local councillor?

Will party machines muscle into super councils?

15 February, 2016

NSW councils issue election demands

Councils’ wish list ahead of NSW election.

2 March, 2015

SA launches counterattack on federal cuts

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has initiated a campaign against the Abbott government’s Budget cut of $5.5 billion to the state that will impact on health and education.

3 July, 2014

Queensland transport minister tries to sell second-hand train toilets

By Julian Bajkowski and Paul Hemsley Queensland’s Minister for Transport Scott Emerson has left little to the imagination on what he thinks about the state’s previous train procurement efforts after he announced that “the Newman Government will sell 50 toilets to finally wipe clean Labor’s failed attempts to deliver regional train travel.” It’s still a […]

6 December, 2013

Salary sacrifice confidence returns to government employees

By Julian Bajkowski Australia’s leading provider of public sector salary packaging services, Smartgroup Investments, believes that business and employee confidence has bounced back following the Federal Election, with government car lessees now shopping around again. At a briefing in Sydney on Monday, Smartgroup chief executive, Deven Billimoria, said inquiry levels for novated vehicle leases from […]

22 October, 2013

PM’s sister defeated in bid for Local Government NSW presidency

By Julian Bajkowski The sister of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Christine Forster, has lost a high profile bid to become the president of peak council group Local Government New South Wales after incumbent co-president Keith Rhoades following elections in Sydney during the body’s annual conference. The re-election of Mr Rhoades, who is an independent councillor […]

2 October, 2013

PM’s sister tilts for Local Government NSW presidency

By Julian Bajkowski New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell and his Local Government minister Don Page could soon have the most formidable of internal opponents to deal with when it comes to trying to push through contentious and controversial council mergers. Christine Forster, a Liberal councillor on the City of Sydney and the high-profile and […]

30 September, 2013

Local Government dropped from federal ministry list

By Julian Bajkowski The federal ministry of Local Government could be the first of many administrative casualties in Canberra after the function conspicuously failed to appear in the publication of Prime Minister elect Tony Abbott’s first Ministry list. In a document that provides a partial window into how the bureaucracy and machinery of government of […]

16 September, 2013

Abbott says federal job cuts of 12,000 will be it

By Julian Bajkowski Opposition leader Tony Abbott has sought hose down rising fears that between 20,000 and 30,000 federal public service jobs will ultimately be axed in a repeat of Howard-era mass public service sackings in Canberra, taking to national radio on the ABC to pledge that only 12,000 jobs will go. Mr Abbott told […]

5 September, 2013

Rudd steers High Speed Rail pledge at Coalition

By Paul Hemsley Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made an ambitious bid to get Labor’s trailing electoral fortunes back on track on the East Coast by pitching the big-picture infrastructure vision of High Speed Rail against Tony Abbott’s smaller target Paid Parental Leave scheme as a better use of taxpayers money. Mr Rudd yesterday committed […]

27 August, 2013

Holden’s subsidy demand spells more doubt for fleet buyers

By Julian Bajkowski and Paul Hemsley Australian public sector fleet buyers are facing fresh uncertainty over the future of General Motors Holden’s domestic manufacturing operations Australia after the carmaker reportedly demanded another $265 million from the federal government in addition to the $275 million that Canberra has already committed to keep the Aussie icon’s factories […]

12 July, 2013

Abbott pushes referendum Vote No case

By Julian Bajkowski Coalition support for the ‘yes’ case in the referendum on Constitutional recognition for local government has edged one step closer to official collapse after Opposition leader Tony Abbott intensified his attack on the poll process amid growing internal pressure to withdraw bipartisan support. Speaking at a press conference in Whittlsea, Victoria, Mr […]

2 July, 2013

Referendum legislation clears Senate despite Coaltion walkout

By Julian Bajkowski Legislation to make a local government referendum on 14th September has finally cleared the Senate amid a widening split in the Coalition that resulted in seven members of the Opposition cross the floor to vote against the bill and at least as many abstaining. The last minute bid to shoot down referendum […]

25 June, 2013